Unveiling Theories and Controversies in Google's Cookie Saga

Main reasons for Google's delay in ending third-party cookies in Chrome include:

• Regulatory Concerns: Google preemptively announced the delay due to serious reservations from the U.K. regulator, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA).

• Control of Narrative: By announcing the delay, Google maintains control over the narrative surrounding the end of third-party cookies.

• Industry Readiness: The industry realized that the solution to replace third-party cookies was not ready for primetime.

• Financial Considerations: Google is ensuring that the removal of third-party cookies won't negatively impact its profits or draw regulatory ire.

• Strategic Shift: Google is transitioning its ad business focus from ad tech to the browser and the cloud, which may involve sacrificing its ad tech business to appease regulators.

Google's Privacy Sandbox is considered just a point solution by some skeptics for the following reasons:

• Performance: Initial tests of the Privacy Sandbox haven't been very promising, leading to doubts about its effectiveness.

• Marketing Strategy: Despite the lackluster performance, Google's aggressive marketing might convince marketers that they're missing out on something significant.

• Alternative Options: Marketers may not necessarily need Google's alternatives to third-party cookies to thrive; they might choose to invest in them only if they outperform other options.

Impact on users when third-party cookies are removed in Chrome:

• Continued Tracking and Targeting: Users will still be tracked and served behaviorally targeted advertising based on their online behaviors, even without third-party cookies.

• Perception of Change: The actual difference to users may be minimal, as the tracking and targeting mechanisms will likely persist through other means.

Google's Privacy Sandbox could potentially affect Amazon's ads business in the following way:

• Competition and Privacy Standards: As competition increases and new privacy standards are enforced, Amazon may need to adjust its advertising tactics, which could impact its growth trajectory.

• Strategic Maneuvering: The theory suggests that Google might use the Privacy Sandbox to stunt the growth of Amazon's ads business, though this is speculative and should be approached with caution.

Concern over third-party cookies persists despite similar limitations in Safari and Firefox because:

• Market Reliance on Chrome: Marketers have heavily relied on Chrome for advertising and may not have fully adapted to the changes in Safari and Firefox.

• Industry Inertia: The ongoing panic indicates that the industry is resistant to change and may be struggling to find effective alternatives to third-party cookies.